The cast of "High School Musical" could have been very different if things had worked out another way. According to Cheat Sheet, "High School Musical" was originally conceived as "Grease 3," per a 1999 script that was doing the rounds at the time. It makes sense to a certain extent since the beloved teen movie "Grease" bears more than a passing resemblance to its modern counterpart (in fact, Screen Rant even argues there are things "HSM" does better than its forebear).
Both Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake were beloved Disney stars at the time, and they were slated to star alongside several contemporaries. According to industry scuttlebutt, the two would've played a young Sandy and Danny, i.e. the characters made famous by Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in the 1978 movie adaptation, while Christina Aguilera, also a Disney darling at that stage, was going to portray a young Rizzo, the role originally played by Stockard Channing.
Although Aguilera turned the project down, Timberlake's bandmates were reportedly meant to have supporting roles alongside him, while Newton-John and Travolta would hopefully have enjoyed brief cameos too.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEpaCsrF6YvK57l3JrbGpmZK%2BztdOnnLJlo6Wyor7SZpilpZ%2BowW6%2F05qpq52UYravedOhoKxlkpq5sMLEnWSdoaOjsrp5wqGYp6aVoXquu9WinGg%3D